Learn some common noun prefixes in Norwegian
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What are some noun prefixes in Norwegian? |
| Anette: And why are they useful to know? |
| Michael: At NorwegianClass101.com, we hear these questions often. In the following dialogue, Sasha Lee is studying for her Norwegian exam with her classmate, Regine Ruud. She sees an unfamiliar word and asks,"What does 'uvenn' mean?" |
| Sasha: Hva betyr "uvenn"? |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha: Hva betyr "uvenn"? |
| Regine: Det betyr "enemy." |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha: Hva betyr "uvenn"? |
| Michael: "What does 'uvenn' mean?" |
| Regine: Det betyr "enemy." |
| Michael: "It means 'enemy.'" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In linguistics, a prefix is a word or letter that is placed before the stem of a word. Adding a prefix to a word changes the meaning of that word. For instance, if you want to form the opposite of "happy," or |
| Anette: lykkelig |
| Michael: without having to use the word "sad," you do it by adding a prefix. In English, we do that by saying, "unhappy," or in Norwegian, |
| Anette: ulykkelig. |
| Michael: If you've noticed, the rules of adding a prefix in Norwegian is similar to English. In our example, we used the prefix, |
| Anette: u, |
| Michael: which is a prefix in Norwegian added to a noun to express the opposite or the lack of something. |
| Michael: Another example of this prefix is the word "unsafe," |
| Anette: utrygg |
| Michael: which is the opposite of "safe," |
| Anette: trygg. |
| Michael: In the dialogue, Sasha was asking about the word that has the same prefix, |
| Anette: uvenn, |
| Michael: which means "enemy" or "foe," and it's the opposite of "friend," or |
| Anette: venn. |
| Michael: Another Norwegian prefix that has a similar usage is: |
| Anette: mis, |
| Michael: which is equivalent to the English prefix mis-, as in "misunderstand," |
| Anette: misforstå, |
| Michael: which is the opposite of: |
| Anette: forstå |
| Michael: "understand." |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you've learned that a prefix is a word or letter added before the stem of a word to form another word with a different meaning. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: We've learned earlier about the prefix, |
| Anette: u- or mis- |
| Michael: which is added to a word to express lack or opposition. Another common prefix in Norwegian is |
| Anette: sam, |
| Michael: which came from the word |
| Anette: sammen |
| Michael: or "together." When you say, |
| Anette: samtale, |
| Michael: it means to have a conversation together. The root word here, by the way, is |
| Anette: tale, |
| Michael: which means "speech." |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences we've heard in this lesson. I'll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Norwegian. Anette will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how to say "What does 'uvenn' mean?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anette: Hva betyr "uvenn"? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anette: Hva betyr "uvenn"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anette: Hva betyr "uvenn"? |
| Michael: And do you remember how to say "It means 'enemy?'" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anette: Det betyr "enemy." |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anette: Det betyr "enemy." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anette: Det betyr "enemy." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Many prefixes used in Norwegian have their origins from other languages. Let's take this word, for instance: |
| Anette: astronom |
| Michael: This means "astronomer," someone who studies heavenly bodies. In Norwegian, it uses the prefix |
| Anette: astro, |
| Michael: which originated from a Greek term that means "celestial body." Another word is |
| Anette: kontrafaktisk |
| Michael: or "contrafactual." This time, the prefix used is |
| Anette: kontra, |
| Michael: which came from a Latin word meaning "against" or "contrary to." |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Anette: Ha det! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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